TechDish: Free Software Friday!

Posted on: Fri, 01/14/2011 - 09:37 — us104_techdish

We've done this before and we'll most assuredly do it again, today on TechDish is another installment of Free Software Fridays! Allow me to preface this episode's web content by stating that this software is completely, absolutely and unequivocally FREE. These aren't trials, or licenses that will expire; and while some of these software offer a pro version, these aren't going to be so trimmed back to the point of being useless. We at TechDish actually use this software on our personal computers and stand behind it completely.

So, let's get to it:

Free Software for your PC

Comodo Firewall

Get it here: www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/firewall.php

License: Free for Personal or Commercial use

If you don't know what a firewall is, allow us to explain and tell you why you'd want one. A firewall essentially is a gatekeeper that monitors, allows and blocks incoming and outgoing connections on your computer. Think of your wired or wireless network card as a large shipping port. There's hundreds of slips boats can dock at and leave from. Your firewall is the guard shack in front of the slips that says to boats "ok, you're clear" or says (in its best Gandalf voice) "You shall not pass".

So, do I need a firewall? No, but you do want one. Viruses, malware and hackers will try to take advantage of your ports; which, if left unguarded, leaves your computer vulnerable against attacks.

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ImgBurn

Get it here: www.imgburn.com

License: Free for Personal or Commercial use

Did you buy a computer that came with a burner but no software? Or was it trial software that is now expired? Before you spend a dime on burning software (like Roxio or Nero—which we think are bloatware anyway), check out ImgBurn. This handy little app will burn CD, DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray discs, all in one application! And let's not forget the ReWritables, it'll do those too. Well, provided you have the hardware to support those types of media.

ImgBurn also burns audio discs for playback in your car or home stereo, and DVD Video discs for playback in a DVD player as well. What's more? It's easy enough to use for beginners, yet powerful enough that even the most abvanced users will not be left wanting for more features.

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DVD Flick

Get it here: www.dvdflick.net

License: Free for Personal or Commercial use

Take what ImgBurn does and BAM! it up a notch. DVD Flick is your all-in-one DVD authoring tool, allowing you to not only compile all of your self-directed masterpieces into a DVD that'll play on any DVD player, but also add menus, subtitles and chaptering to the finished result too! So now when you want to watch Aunt Doris fall off the porch into the pool, you'll be able to do it over and over again, without needing to use those pesky rewind/fast-forward cues. Besides, how can you go wrong with a developer who provides a user guide in pig latin?

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Microsoft Security Essentials (read: Free Antivirus!)

Get it here: www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

License: Free for Personal or Small Business (up to 10 computers) use

Yeah, I was skeptical about this one too—a quality AV product from Microsoft? The makers of security-vulnerability-laden Internet Explorer? And Vista? And (eww) Me? But hey, I gave it a shot more than 6 months ago and haven't looked back since. MS Security Essentials is much more lightweight than Norton, and does an equally comparable job in this author's opinion. Sure, no antivirus software (including the paid variety) is bulletproof, and this one's no exception to that rule. But with how good this one is, and for the $0 price tag, it's not something that'll waste your time.

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7Zip Archive Utility

Get it here: www.7-zip.org

License: Free for Personal or Commercial use

This is the lightest-running, most file format-supporting, does your dishes and makes you coffee in the morning file archiving utility out there. Did we say least-dollar-costing? At "free", it's that too! 7Zip allows you to lump multiple files of multiple types into one big file. This is very handy when you're sending an entire album's worth of photos to a friend, and you don't want to attach 30 or 40 individual images. This is also handy when you want to conserve on file space, because 7Zip compresses these files you are combining as well! Want to password protect an entire directory on your hard drive to keep it safe from prying eyes? Create an archive containing your files with 7Zip and add password encryption. Slick!

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What's your favorite free software?

Or for that matter, what's your favorite software, period? Join the discussion in our comments and put us to the task—see if we can't find an equally comparable, and FREE alternative!